


Dragon Slayer

by chrissap21



Series: Short Stories of Everia [1]
Category: Original Work
Genre: Original work - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-07
Updated: 2015-01-07
Packaged: 2018-03-06 14:28:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,237
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3137705
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chrissap21/pseuds/chrissap21
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>One of many introduction stories to a new world. <br/>This one is about a hired Dragon Slayer who finds that his target is not what he thought it to be.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Dragon Slayer

 

Dragon Slayer

 

The knight had wandered outside of the village that was nearest to his target. As he left the last houses behind him he noticed how the sun descended already. Even though it would take its time to set, it would be dark when he would be done with the beast he was supposed to kill.

His armor, made of the scales of dragons he had killed before, shimmered in the bright rays of the sun as he slowly traversed off the beaten path and inside the thick forest. The villagers said that he should watch out for wolves or bears that roamed the nearby brushwood, but he doubted that they would be active during this time of the day.

Due to the heat of the summer sun he began to sweat under his helmet and armor, as it protected all of his body except for his face the heat became unbearable. The knight circled around his own axis to look for a hint of a water source, when he noticed that the nearest mountain seemed to have a stream of water, which ran through the forest.

As he drew closer to the small river he noticed a few critters that also tried to quench their thirst. They did not take any note of the knight, even though his armor resonated with loud noises as he stepped on a stone they drank in peace until both of the bunnies were done and ran deeper into the forest, away from the dragon slayer's target.

He removed both his gloves and crouched down to drink some of the glistering water. As put it into his mouth he felt a strange sensation, he never drank water as fresh and cold as this, he could taste how rich in minerals it was and drank more than he originally intended. He filled his few supplies with the water and picked an apple that had a very rich red color. As he took a bite he once more began to wander towards the mountain, his sword on his belt and his shield on the back, they were strongly bound onto the armor and did not make a sound as he walked.

 

Even though the knight was smaller than the average he trained his whole life and could wear the armor with ease. Not many humans took the path of the knight, as they are closest to the root of magic. But he never cared for it, he was never interested in books and energies, he wanted to become a strong knight to protect his family and lands.

In the end he became a mercenary who never found a group, but who could kill ferocious beasts with ease, he killed more dragons than any single person known to this time and got the nickname 'The Dragon Slayer' from other mercenaries and those who hired them. If a client had not too much money at their disposal but wanted a dead beast they hired this man. For a while he insisted to be called Forran, it was the name of his father, according to his mother, but after a while he accepted the title of the people and rolled with it. As he became friends with a blacksmith he got many practical weapons and trinkets to fight the fire breathing creatures as well as the armor, made from the scales of his fallen victims.

Dragon scales are impenetrable by most means, thus he could easily go into combat with creatures that stood under the dragons, in terms of the food chain.

 

As the man stood before the cave he was seeking he had to take off his helmet for a few minutes to get some air on his skin. His hair was of a light brown color and very short as he had to fit it into the tight helmet. His eyes had a brown color with streaks of yellow and he had a rather young looking face for a man of 35 years. His skin was tanned as he had to wander long distances alone, as most animals that could make traveling easier detest the smell of dragon scales and would become wild as soon as he would sit on them and getting into the armor is an act that takes a whole hour, which he does not want to waste in the wilds.

The Slayer unsheathed his sword, it was a simple worked one with a metallic blade and a hilt made of burning wood, a strange material that grew resistant to fire over the years. Inside of the hilt was a beautiful green jewel charged with magical energies that has been made by a talented magician, to protect the blade from going blunt.

Before he took his shield, Forran grabbed into a bag which his client gave to him. It contained a small sphere with a weak membrane and a swirling, bright mist inside of it. His client told him to crush it before he entered the cave, as it could give the ability to see in the dark.

As he slowly crushed it between his fingers, the mist flew out and surrounded him. It lingered there for a few second until it abruptly flew into his helmet, inside the armor and then into his skin.

He had to suppress a scream but noticed that he could look far deeper into the cave he stood before.

The mountain itself reached beyond the clouds and was far bigger than the little village the man came from. He could not see the source of the stream from which he drank, but it was probably from a glacier on top of the mountain.

His client said that the cave was full with gemstones, but every troop that has been sent to mine them was either killed or chased away by the dragon that slept inside of the cave.

The knight now equipped his towering shield, made of a strange metal that can only be melted under the full moon. Some people called it moonstone, others called it magicite. In both circumstances it was a very useful and sturdy, but very rare metal, he got the ore once as a reward from a researcher and gave it to his friend the smith to make the shield.

The dragon slayer slowly walked into the cave, amazed by depth of the subterranean area he almost did not notice the sparkling jewel on one of the walls.

He slowly approached the shimmering stone and took it out of the wall but it aburptly lost the light it emitted as he took it out. Without further ado he put it in one of his bags to sell it later or have it infused with a spell by a magician.

As he went further he noticed more and more of the precious stones on the walls until all sides shimmered in all colors of the spectrum known to the human eye.

When the man drew nearer the path never forked but right now he noticed that the walls got closer and the ceiling was a lot lower than it was when he entered the cave.

Now he saw something, a silhouette lingering on a pile of pillows, bathing in the radiance emitted by the walls.

Was it a hostage? Or the beast itself? The slayer had a bad feeling but before he could get close enough the creature twitched.

A tail rose but with all other attributes the creature looked more like a human being.

The knight knew what that creature was and put down his sword, but before he could speak the Bestial began to utter words.

“Man of the gods, slayer of dragons what do you seek here?” The creature had a very deep, male voice and sounded angered.

“Why do you dare to lay foot into this sacred mountain? How do you explain your exploit of my weakest point in the whole year and what is your motive to collect these sacred stones?”

The humanoid dragon now stood right before the knight. It was a head taller than him and had pure white scales that reflected the shimmer of the stones which overflew the cave. He had two big horns on his forehead that curved behind his head. His eyes had as many colors as the cave itself, ever shifting with the moves the creature made.

Forran was speechless for a second but found his center once more. He cleared his throat and answered in a low tone.

“I am sorry, bestial one. I was hired to kill the creature that guarded this cave to pave the way for miners to quarry the stones of the caves.”

The dragon became more furious and hissed at the intruder.

“You are not welcome here. No one is welcome here. I have to guard this cave in the name of the god Terrakon! These gems contain the ability to awaken the true potential of everyone who touches them. Humans and Bestials alike could become the greatest threat this planet has seen so far. Only a chosen few shall be granted one of these stones and you are not one of them!”

The knight found himself in thoughts, he began asking the questions which he collected while the other spoke.  
“Before I go, I have a few questions. First, if this is truly a place blessed by one of the gods, why have it guarded by a Bestial and not a human? I am not a religious man but most people say that we humans are closest to the gods. Second, what is this potentials that can be awakened and why is it a threat to the balance of the world and third, are you all alone here? What do you eat and drink?”

The other one sighed but lost some his innate aggressiveness. He pointed towards the pile of pillows that he rested on before.

“Since you do not seem to be interested in killing me anymore, nor into taking any of the jewels come I will answer your questions.”

They both went to the silky pile of cushions and sat down. Even though he appeared calm, Forran was very thrilled. He always dreamt of meeting a Bestial but he didn't have the chance to see one outside of the books and pictures.

He was lost in the marvelous scales, and eyes the creature possessed, but also fascinated by the its muscular body, which was not covered in scales but instead in a reptilian hide. He studied the half dragon until he began to speak and answer the questions of the man.

“It is a very justifiable question, both us Bestials as well as you Humans were created by the gods, but you are more modeled after them, while we are supposed to be links to the nature. That is why I guard this place, I am the guardian of this miracle of the gods, a wonder of nature, guarded by the avatar of earth. Second the potential these stones awaken is not easily described. You also do not seem to be a magic user, so I will try to be as understandable as possible. A magician takes his power from the root of all magic, it is not a place that really exists but more a concept of energy that is everywhere. A living being needs to materialize this energy through his body, into a catalyst and then give it form, when casting a spell of chaotic nature.

Normally a human being is limited by their bodies and the catalyst they use, but if one of these gems is used as a catalyst the magic can be directly used from the root into the stone and then give it form, thus giving the caster unlimited energy to work with.

Bestials on the other hand can use the stone to destroy the energy that holds our humanoid and our animal forms apart. With one of these stones you could create a simple army made of our people it is a very destructive power, since every Bestial that shifts into their wild form has far bigger size than the animals you are used to.

 

And yes I am guarding this place all alone and I simply feed on the energy provided by the gemstones and the water that drops down here from the top of the mountain.”

 

It was very interesting to listen to the Bestial for the Dragon Slayer and as he came to a close he stood up. Even though the sight of the creature was a sight to behold he had to go.   
“I was ordered to kill a dragon, but you are not a mindless beast who hoards treasure but an important guardian of nature. I can tell my client that I could not kill you and that even the biggest groups of hunters would fail to get you down. I have to thank you and hopefully your quest will be fulfilled.”

Ferron bowed to the dragon and went outside. He was blinded by the light as he left the beautiful cave. He regretted that he never actually asked for the name of the guardian, but he would definitely remember him. The sun was still shining in the sky and he began to wander towards the village. The first thing he would need now was a bath and to take care of a little problem he got.

 


End file.
